A review by girlreading
Wild Swans by Jessica Spotswood
3.0
3.75* For some reason I expected this to be a mystery or paranormal. My expectations were proved wrong as this ended up being a lovely contemporary. There were some really brilliant messages within the plot regarding body image, gender, sexuality, mental health etc. It was great to read a book which touched on so many of these topics but dealt with them in such a positive, forward thinking way and didn't belittle or patronise the characters dealing with these issues. Although these things were not the main focus of the plot and were often quite subtle, I felt that they were some of the best parts.
Since there were so many elements to the story and its characters, I feel as though everyone will be able to relate to it in some way or another. I really enjoyed Ivy's character development. She was a strong character from the beginning but became stronger throughout the plot in a lot of ways which I really enjoyed. I thought the friendships in this were really lovely, as was the romance. The family relationships and dynamic was really interesting to read as there were so many dimensions to it. Overall, Wild Swans was a really lovely and enjoyable read which touched on some really important subjects in a sensitive, yet truthful way.
Since there were so many elements to the story and its characters, I feel as though everyone will be able to relate to it in some way or another. I really enjoyed Ivy's character development. She was a strong character from the beginning but became stronger throughout the plot in a lot of ways which I really enjoyed. I thought the friendships in this were really lovely, as was the romance. The family relationships and dynamic was really interesting to read as there were so many dimensions to it. Overall, Wild Swans was a really lovely and enjoyable read which touched on some really important subjects in a sensitive, yet truthful way.